Foz2
I would agree with pretty much everything said on this thread so far..
Your PPL won't make any difference to the AAC, in fact since the aim of grading is to see how much you improve with instruction I have heard of PPL holders doing worse since they don't shed bad habits easily and hence appear less 'absorbant' to the pearls of wisdom flowing from the LHS.
As an officer in the AAC look at the career structure before you commit, officers careers have changed radically recently and how long you remain at the front line will now depend on your time served, not your age. Everyone here loves to fly, but remember that what floats your boat now may not be quite so satisfying in 20 years time (do you want to be a chief or an indian?). If you want to fly above all else for the rest of your career, AAC officer is not for you.
While it is true that if you want to fly forever the RAF or Navy are better choices (I wouldn't go into the army as a soldier for this reason as you can't start the pilots course till you have been selected for promotion to Cpl, and even then the number of squaddies who were promised "no problem - do a few years and you'll be straight on the pilot's course" who are still floating around on the ground is huge! But on my pilot's course (tri-service) we had a crab on the basic rotary stage of the course who had been in the RAF for 6 years and had done nothing but his pilots course and holding posts, and was still at the same stage as the army boys (and girls) who had been on the course for 4 months. (admittedly he was fast jet and got all the way up to valley before being chopped - but still, 6 years
)
Whichever way you jump nothing beats decent qulity military flying (you are never going to turn below treetop height and come face to face with a tank commander who is further from the ground than you are while flying a cessna
)
Hope it all works out
